Video feature: When Values Collide, lecture with Lee Rosenbaum

If you missed Lee Rosenbaum's Elliott Society lecture about museum deaccessioning controversies in April, now you can watch it online at the UIMA's lecture video channel! We will be posting lectures, artist talks, and any other UIMA programs we think people would be interested in at uima.blip.tv. We'll continue posting the videos here on the blog, but if you'd like to watch them in a larger format, be sure to check out the channel!

Also, if you're interested in seeing more UIMA videos, check out our YouTube channel, where we'll be posting shorter videos. There will be many posted there soon about paintings in the "A Legacy for Iowa" exhibit at the Figge.

--Claire Lekwa, UIMA Marketing and Media Intern

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Veteran cultural journalist and "CultureGrrl" blogger Lee Rosenbaum speaks about art museum deaccessioning controversies in the University of Iowa Museum of Art's Spring 2009 Elliott Society lecture series. Iowa City-based attorney David Bright, who serves on the American Bar Associations Art & Cultural Heritage Law Committee and the UIMA Members Council, joins Rosenbaum for the talk on April 15, 2009. The programs focus is especially relevant for the UIMA in light of the year's events. In 2008, at the request of the Board of Regents, the University of Iowa prepared an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of deaccessioning the Museums most celebrated painting, Jackson Pollock's Mural (1943), to cover flood damages the campus suffered in June 2008.

Deaccessioning -- Who makes the rules?

This article from the New York Times is particularly interesting in light of this summer's events surrounding the possible sale of the UIMA's celebrated Abstract Expressionist masterpiece, Mural, by Jackson Pollock. Check out these old posts for more information: Michael Judge on Pollock; Pollock Furor; Mural will not be sold.

Pollock 'Mural' will not be sold

Good news -- The Iowa Board of Regents will not even consider the possibility of selling the UIMA's celebrated Jackson Pollock painting, Mural (above), at their next meeting!

This news broke late last week after the Regents reviewed a report prepared by the UI in response to the Regents request for information about the painting. This report, sent to the regents on Tuesday, September 30, was prepared using information provided by UIMA Interim Director Pamela White, documentation in the Museum's records, other information in the public domain concerning Jackson Pollock and the painting Mural, as well as help from other university departments. A copy of the report is available here.

The Regents released the report publicly on Friday, October 3, along with a statement from Board President David Miles, which is available here. Miles, in his statement, says, "This concludes the Board's inquiry into this matter." Art blogger Lee Rosenbaum talked with the Board's communications director and confirmed that the regents will not even discuss the matter of potentially selling the Pollock at their October meeting because they consider the issue closed. Read her full post, which includes an Q&A with UIMA Interim Director Pamela White here.

Other coverage of the Regents' report:

• The Gazette, "Consultant: Famous painting at UI too valuable to lose."
  
• The Press Citizen editorial, "Our View: Painting worth far more than its price tag."
• The Daily Iowan, "Selling Mural discussion continues."
  
• The Associated Press, "U of I says ‘Mural’ sale would hurt museum." Article appeared in The Des Moines Register, the Sioux City Journal, The Chicago Tribune, WHO TV, and KLEM 1410 radio (Le Mars).
  
• Modern Art Notes blog: "UIMA: Sotheby's offered $150M Guarantee for Pollock"; "Weekend roundup"; "Sotheby's: UIMA approached us (updated)."
  
• Time Magazine blog, "Auction House Follies."
  
• LA Times blog, "Sotheby's called out over Pollock offer."
  

Pollock Furor

Yesterday at a Board of Regents meeting (this board is appointed by the governor to oversee the state-run universities -- UI, ISU, UNI), Regent Michael Gartner requested a study of the worth of the UIMA's famed Jackson Pollock Mural, below. The Iowa City Press-Citizen broke the story, and Pam White, the UIMA interim director, director of the Pentacrest Museums, a lawyer who teaches the class "Art Law and Ethics," and head of Museum Studies at the UI, spent the better part of her afternoon talking to other members of the local press to explain some of the very complicated issues surrounding such a decision. If you haven't seen the stories from today's paper, you might want to check them out: Des Moines Register, The Gazette, Corridorbuzz.com.

We've also gotten quite a bit of attention nationally. There was an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, and two quite prominent arts bloggers are on the case: Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes, and Lee Rosenbaum of the Culture Grrl blog. (You might remember Tyler Green from his interview right after the flood with Pam. Lee Rosenbaum has written extensively about other museum's struggles to hold on to their collections.)

This news comes right on the heels of a great article on the rescuing of the Pollock by Michael Judge in the Wall Street Journal a little over a week ago.

If you are interested, the American Association of Museums has guidelines for museum ethics, standards and best practices, and a list of accredited museums on its website. (The UIMA would lose its accreditation if the Pollock was sold to pay for flood damages.)

We're curious to hear what you think about this issue. Post a comment (instructions here) and let us know, eh?